Nice effects though.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This film, I may have read, was a French production, and I recognize one actor (the man Claire picks up in a bar for quick sex before dumping)from French films I've seen. It does have that episodic quality of "Vivre Sa Vie," another film dealing with prostitution. Many of the exterior and interior shots were interesting, and while there was a lack of emotion to much of the film, it seemed to give the it character, for better or worse. Some scenes stand out: Meaney's literally dumping the cat out the window (possibly to his/her death), giving an insight into that personage's character; D'Onofrio's being mugged in a rundown area. This seemed realistic, as was his reaction afterward (I once spoke to someone who had suffered the same). A possibly unrealistic touch: Claire's working for a pimp. Even though this is a specific case, from what I have read, escorts at that price range tend to be independent and not beholden to procurers. Also, one of the earlier reviewers commented that "classy" guys wouldn't hire prostitutes. This is probably true of someone who enjoys cheating on a wife, or someone who abuses the girl they've hired verbally and/or physically. But many others are simply lonely and may need relief, preferably with someone younger.

Claire Dolan (Katrin Cartlidge) is a prostitute. Like many of them, she really doesn't like sex at all, or even most men, and sees it as a job. She's in debt to her pimp, Roland Cain (Colm Meaney) after he helps pay the medical bills of Claire's dying mother. When her mother passes on, Claire runs off and starts working in a salon, and meets a nice cabby named Elton (Vincent D'Onofrio). But Cain finds her, and he wants his money.Lodge H. Kerrigan has not directed many films, but if they are as good as this one, I would like to see them. He captures how sterile the sex Claire has is, and shows how she really doesn't enjoy it. I was a bit shocked by how many of the men spoke to Claire. I was taught not to talk to women that way, but then again, guys going to prostitutes probably aren't exactly classy people anyway. Kerrigan does great work with reflections throughout this film, and the ending with Roland and Elton talking on the street gives closure in it's own way.The acting was awesome. I didn't know Kartlidge could be so prickly, and I would never have imagined Meaney playing a guy who could yell like that. D'Onofrio is a good actor who wasn't given much to work with, although in his last scene with Claire he is far more disturbing than I think any other actor could be, which was what Kerrigan needed. Good, but not for the squeamish, as the movie is about a prostitute and is graphic.

After seeing this film I was immediately struck by its similarities to Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman. Certainly, they are very different films, but there is a significant overlap, not just in subject matter and character--Jeanne and Claire--but also in approach. So much of Claire's life passes in silence or repetition that the parallels to Jeanne are fairly strong. Also, viewing Claire in the context of Jeanne at least suggests that having a child will not at all be the answer and solution that Claire is looking for, as motherhood did not make Jeanne Dielman's life wonderful. This film never looks as stark or as imagistic or as metaphorically thought through as Akerman's film, but as it moves along, and despite prosaic and occasionally clumsy scenes, it does attain a visual presence, and aspires to some imagistic displays. When her pimp asserts ruthlessly deterministic views of Claire, they cast a huge shadow on the events left unresolved, and few viewers can come away from this film with anything approaching an upbeat reading; but as a reminder that humans are fragile, frustrating, frustrated and often just aimlessly pathetic, this can stand alone, a stones throw away from a brilliant experiment like Akerman's Jeanne Dielman.

beautifully shot but the dialogue was too spare almost david "mametian" the end result strong directorial hands (so interesting objectively) but ultimately not moving which i think it hoped to be. it's like he had an idea that would have worked well as a short and he stretched it out.